Champion Vs. Champion In Philly!

Ring of Honor officials held a meeting at the ROH headquarters yesterday to discuss a multitude of topics as we head into 2012. The issues ranged from addressing the rules of competition, to live events for the next year, to sorting out the various title situations in Ring of Honor. Several items were confirmed including upcoming title challengers for belts and the location of these championship bouts. Number one on that list: the ROH World Title.

As a result of winning the Honor Rumble on December 3rd at “Southern Defiance”, the ROH World TV Champion Jay Lethal earned himself a future title opportunity. It was determined over the course of that meeting that Lethal will challenge ROH World Champion Davey Richards on January 20th when ROH makes its long awaited return to Philadelphia for “The Homecoming 2012”!

“This is the opportunity I have been eagerly anticipating, not just since I earned this title chance, but since I first stepped foot into an ROH ring so many years ago. I had the opportunity once in 2005, and I look back now and can honestly say it was before I was ready to step up to that level, but I and have craved another chance to become ROH World Champion ever since. I made my first mark here in ROH in Philadelphia, in the days of the Murphy Rec, and in the National Guard Armory too, so it just feels…right…that I challenge for the belt when ROH has its homecoming since these last six months have certainly been an extended homecoming for me too. Davey Richards, I see the warrior that you are every time you lace up your boots and step into the ring; when we fought side by side just a short time ago I got to see it first-hand. I hope you were paying as much attention to me as I was to you, because I aim to take that title and become the first man in ROH to hold two belts at once.”

Not only could Jay Lethal become the first man to hold 2 ROH championships simultaneously, but with a victory over Richards, he would also become just the 2nd man to hold a Triple Crown in ROH, having previously captured the ROH Pure Title and currently reigning as the TV Champion. As grand as this championship opportunity is for Jay Lethal, there are a few other issues to address pertaining to the World Title picture…

It has been disclosed that “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin was originally slated for this title match, due to his victory at “Survival of the Fittest 2011”, however Truth Martini used his managerial stroke to persuade officials to hold off on Elgin’s championship match. There are many theories as to Martini’s true agenda for pushing off Elgin’s title match but regardless off what that may be, Martini was successful at getting Elgin’s title match to take place after the January events.

Also discussed at the meeting was the ROH World Championship status of both Roderick Strong and Eddie Edwards as we enter 2012. It has been determined that both men will have to get a few more credible wins before they are offered another World championship opportunity, although ROH officials do feel that Strong is on the right path after a huge “Final Battle 2011” win against Chris Hero.

The ROH World Title scene is already heating up for 2012, so make sure you keep your browsers on ROHWrestling.com for all the news as it gets delivered! We expect to have a few more details regarding yesterday’s meeting available in a Newswire later today so watch out for that as well. But most importantly, get your tickets now for “The Homecoming 2012”, ROH’s highly anticipated return to Philly, featuring a World Title bout between ROH World Champion Davey Richards vs. ROH World TV Champion Jay Lethal!